John Bowman - May 12, 2009

Several years ago, I remember reading an historical analysis of alien movies and other popular media, with an interesting conclusion that went something like this: With a few notable exceptions, during times of war, widespread geopolitical strife or general oppression or misery, E.T. is generally depicted in popular media as a benevolent visitor, yet in times of peace or general prosperity, E.T. is instead portrayed as a merciless invader. The study tracked several cycles back and forth from aliens being good guys and bad guys, saviors or slavers. I suppose Orwell might have a thing or two to say about that, as would any political skeptic: the masses must have an enemy (even if it is imaginary and lives beyond the stars) in order to keep them “united for the common good” and their attentions diverted from the sleight-of-hand (or “mouth” as it were).

In fact, there is some pretty credible evidence that the entire sci-fi domain (at least insofar as films are concerned) is nothing if not a gentle, alluring introduction to the monstrous tenets of Karl Marx and his deplorable Communism. Take Star Trek, for instance (since a new movie is coming soon – Here I give my apologies in advance to Star Trek fans. My intent is not to taint or diminish your enjoyment of those productions, but rather to leverage certain facts to make what I believe is an interesting conclusion).

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